GM Gareev Defeats 29 in Blindfold Simul

PRESS RELEASE: SAINT LOUIS (May 1, 2013) -- It took 10 hours and 39 minutes for Grandmaster Timur Gareev to topple the final king and leave the chess community in Saint Louis dazed and amazed.

On Tuesday, GM Gareev put on a 33-board blindfolded simultaneous exhibition at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, scoring 29 wins, four draws and zero losses.

The field, composed entirely of Saint Louis Chess Club members, had an average USCF rating of 1363, and featured of two experts, three class A players (1800-1999) and five class B players (1600-1799).

CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich (USCF 2020) was the highest-rated player in the field and one of only four players to draw the blindfolded virtuoso. “It was a truly an amazing experience to witness this remarkable display of concentration and memory,” Rich said.

GM Timur Gareev in action during the blindfold simul

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GM Gareev is working toward setting a new blindfold simul world record of 64 boards before the end of 2013. The date for the record-breaking simul is tentatively set for December 21 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. After switching federations from Uzbekistan to the U.S., he will be competing in his first-ever U.S. Championship. He enters the tournament as the No. 2-rated player in the field, second only to GM Gata Kamsky.

The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13, with the Opening Ceremony taking place the evening of May 2 and the first round of play beginning at 1 p.m. CT on May 3.

The average was derived from the 29 rated players with the four unrated players omitted from the calculations. Of the four unrated players, only Ed Protzel is not a current USCF member.

The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13. This marks the fifth consecutive year that each of these prestigious events will be held in Saint Louis.

The opening ceremony takes place on May 2, and the first round for both events will kick off at 1 p.m. CT on May 3.

Also, fans of the U.S. Chess Championships can participate in Fantasy Chess for free by visiting: http://www.uschesschamps.com/2013-fantasy-chess. The grand prize is round-trip airfare for two from anywhere in the continental U.S., two nights hotel, a private dinner with GM Yasser Seirawan and two private lessons with Seirawan as well.

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.About The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures.

Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.

Hozzászólások

The game with William Little is interesting because I think black could have done something with the passed pawn instead of 37. Re4 ... Rd6? a move that does nothing apart from allowing the Knight fork which draws the game. Pushing the passed pawn will allow black to at least force a rook exchange and then take his pawn advantage to victory.

Playing against many beginners makes it more difficult cause he has to remember akward moves and akward positions...not as when you are playing theoretical moves...many of the players that have made blindfold chess records have played against many almost newcomers to chess...so this record has all the value and acknowledge...very well done Timur...

the exhibition in hawaii will be even weaker opposition. the average rating of 1300 is just ridiculous. the minimum should be at least 1550-1600. the reason he picks weak players is that he can quickly beat them and the games are shorter.

What an amazing experience! I helped moderate the simul here at the CCSCSL and I could not imagine that he would be so successful!

Looks like some of the questions were already addressed. But I can answer some:

"Uh, he only had to concentrate for four games. The rest of the field was laughable weak compared to him."

The players were of good caliber, many frequent visitors of the chess club, students from our scholastic programs and staff of the chess club. Accommodations were provided for the participants to keep them focused throughout the 10+ hour match. Remember, he had to remember all 33 games; not to mention calculations! Those are thousands of positions at the same time.

"What is that headset he's wearing?"

This was a last minute decision; they are noise cancelling headphones that are wired to a microphone into which the participants would say their moves.

After about an hour, Timur got tired of wearing them, so I know that this picture was taken right after we started.

It's all about practice. My record in blinfold play is six boards, and I'm no GM. I also played a match with a friend, we played three games simultaneously where I played blinfold in two and he in the third. Also played blinfold against 2100 player, he gave me knight and two beers odds.

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